The Hunters' Federation (FKNK) said today that it strongly condemned the reported illegal shooting of storks in the past few days and said it would take disciplinary action if anyone convicted of these 'atrocious' acts was found to be among its members.

The federation said it had alerted the police immediately the first large flock of storks arrived in Malta on Wednesday. Its officials also monitored the birds.

The federation said the first two flocks that arrived on Wednesday numbered close to 600 birds, which eventually broke up into smaller flocks, most of which spent Wednesday and Thursday nights in various localities in Malta. Some of the birds continued on their journey. Friday morning saw a sizeable flock, close to 100 birds, cross over to Gozo where they spent most of the day and that night. By this morning (Saturday) most of the birds had left the islands.

The FKNK congratulated the police  in Malta and Gozo for the manner in which they handled the situation.

"The FKNK strongly condemns any illegal shooting at these birds that has been reported, and once the details of any of the perpetrators of such atrocious acts, who may be FKNK members, are known, the FKNK will take immediate disciplinary action in line with the court decision accordingly," the federation said.